Duty Bound: Bound and Tied, Book 2 Read online

  Damned fool! He had no right to gamble away his family’s livelihood. “You’re not going to take a swing at me too, are you?” Jake kinda liked the idea as crazy as it seemed. Anything to get her closer.

  She lifted her nose. “No, sir. I had hoped to talk you out of claiming the ranch.”

  His lips twisted. “So he sent his daughter to make a deal with me?” He lowered his pistol, anger building at a man who’d send his beautiful daughter out to fix his mess. “I like the man less and less.”

  Katherine Masterson raised her hands. “Oh, no. My father doesn’t even know that I’m here. He’d be furious.”

  “So you came into a strange man’s room, unaccompanied, to talk me into releasing your father’s debt?” Guilt knotted like a wet rope in his belly. Times had to be desperate for a decent woman to come out this late at night to negotiate with a randy miner.

  “I figured you might be of a reasonable nature.”

  “And if I wasn’t?” He had every intention of giving back the cattleman’s ranch, but he wondered how this beautiful woman would convince him to do so. How far would she go?

  The night was getting more interesting indeed. Jake almost rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the lengths this lovely lady might go to secure her family home. “What will you promise me in return for such a deed?” He was testing her, that was all, he told himself. His breath caught and held in wait of her response.

  The woman’s eyes widened and she sputtered. “Well…I’d thought…I mean…I hadn’t thought of a trade.” Her gaze shot to the window as though she wished she could escape. “I have the horse I rode in on.”

  “A horse is worth more than a ranch?” Jake shook his head.

  “How about both of our horses? My father’s and mine.”

  “Not interested.”

  “Good Lord. We have little else to offer. You won it all in that damn—darned poker game.” She propped her hands on her hips. “What would interest you?”

  “It might surprise you to know the answer to that question.”

  “Please, do tell, as my patience has waned.”

  He stepped closer, his naked body on fire with her nearness.

  Katherine backed up a step, then another, until her bottom pressed against the door, her gaze dropping to that part of him almost close enough to get buried in the folds of her dress.

  He liked that she was uncomfortable with his nakedness and that she stood up to him nonetheless. He touched a finger to the side of her cheek.

  She jumped but she had nowhere to go.

  Jake swooped in to seal her fate. His finger traced a slow, steady path down the side of her throat, across her collarbone to the swell of her breast. “I’d be interested in you.”

  “Me?” KC gulped, the feel of his finger resting against the rise of her breast the most astonishing thing she’d felt since Rosalyn had plumped them earlier. The ache in her belly spread lower, the junction of her thighs feverish with moisture.

  Jake leaned his other hand against the door panel behind her, his body—and most importantly, his dick—pressing into the lush fabric of the borrowed dress. Even through all the folds of material, KC could feel the steely stiffness of his cock nudging her belly.

  Her heart pounded, her knees threatened to buckle and her vision blurred. So this was what women called palpitations. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be laid out on the floor in a full faint. And she’d be damned if she let this man get the better of her emotions yet again. She balled her fist and reminded herself that she’d punched him not once, but twice. And she had even more reason now to do it again.

  She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing retort, but before a word emerged, his mouth covered hers, claiming her lips like a pirate stealing his plunder.

  Shock robbed her of movement and she stood as though turned to a statue. But statues didn’t have muscles the consistency of butter, nor did they moan with utter abandon into the mouths of arrogant bastards. KC fell against him, a whimper rising up her throat as his lips slipped over hers, his tongue tracing the seam of her mouth, pressing against her clenched teeth until her mouth opened and he was in.

  His fingers threaded into the beautiful arrangement Rosalyn had labored over for the past two hours, slipping combs and pins loose until the tresses fell down over her shoulders.

  Had Rosalyn’s handiwork been too potent? Had she turned KC from a sow’s ear to a silk purse in less than two hours, only for this man to tear her efforts asunder?

  When Jake lifted his lips from hers, KC gulped several times before she could get words out of her suddenly dry throat. “You would trade my father’s ranch for me?”

  The man stared down into her eyes, his fingers moving down her neck to her exposed shoulders. “I might be convinced.”

  Hope sprang in KC’s chest. If he agreed to let her father have his ranch back, her family would not be homeless. “And the money you won? Would you give it back to him?”

  The man called Jake frowned. “Now why should I do that?”

  She twisted out from beneath his arm and backed away from him, hoping she wasn’t making a big mistake by pushing this man even further.

  “What good would a ranch be if a man cannot feed his family through the winter? My father has a wife and six other daughters besides me. I will not allow them to starve if I can help it.”

  The miner’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Your father should have thought of that before he gambled away his livelihood.”

  KC pushed her tumbled hair back from her face and straightened her shoulders. “The ranch and the money my father made from the sale of his cattle…for me. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.” She tucked her hands behind her back, hiding the fingers she crossed for luck. Please let him agree to the preposterous deal. She focused on what it would mean to her family and refused to think of what it meant for her.

  Jake’s lips quirked on the corners, then a frown pushed his brows low over his eyes. He walked toward her. “I’m not certain I’m gettin’ the better end of this deal. Maybe I’d like to look that gift horse in the mouth.”

  KC’s anger simmered. “Fine.” She opened her mouth wide. “I have all my teeth. I am a sturdy woman, despite the fancy clothing, and I work hard.”

  His lips twisted. “I’m not interested in breedin’ stock. I’m more interested in your entertainment value.”

  She frowned. “I can’t sing, if that’s what you’re talking about.”

  “Not interested in singin’.” He shook his head and made a slow circle around her, his gaze raking from her borrowed button shoes to the low neckline of the gown.

  KC squirmed under his appraisal. “I can’t dance, but I’m willing to learn, if that’s what it takes.”

  He shook his head again, coming to a halt in front of her. “Not interested in dancin’.” He nodded toward the laces at the front of the dress. “Show me what I’d be gettin’ for my money and ranch.”

  “I beg your pardon?” KC backed away, her hand going to the dip of cleavage between her breasts.

  “I don’t make it a habit of buyin’ stock ’less I give it a thorough once-over.” His chin rose enough that he looked down his nose at her. “Take off the dress and show me what I’m gettin’ for the money.”

  “I will not.” KC stomped her foot and would have stomped it on his if she thought it would make a bit of difference in his arrogant attitude.

  “Then no deal.” He opened the door to his chamber and motioned for her to leave. “I want a woman who knows how to please a man.”

  KC gulped hard. “I know how to please a man.”

  Jake’s brows rose. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “How many have you pleased?” he demanded.

  “Dozens,” KC lied.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  KC threw her hands in the air. “Why am I arguing with you? Either you are interested or you’re not.”

  “I am a business man. I want value for my
money.”

  “Oooooo.” KC gritted her teeth to keep from telling the man exactly what she thought of him. Instead, she gathered her skirts and marched for the door. As she neared the threshold, the faces of her mother and sisters swam before her eyes, and she couldn’t bear the idea of failing them. Instead of passing through the open door, she closed it and turned to face the odious beast of a man who dared to demand she strip for his amusement.

  Well she’d show him.

  “I will only show you some of what you will be getting. The rest you will see upon consummation of the deal.” Quickly, before she could change her mind, she unlaced the front of her dress, shoving it down to her waist. The corset around her middle pushed her breasts up high. Her rosy nipples puckered in the cool mountain air.

  The miner sucked in a breath, his eyes widening. His hand reached out to touch one rounded orb.

  Before he could lay a finger on her, KC slapped his hand away. “Not until you agree to the deal.”

  Jake’s eyes narrowed as he rubbed the red mark on his hand where she’d popped him good. “I’ll speak to your father in the mornin’. Only then will I make any deals.”

  KC pulled the front of her dress back up over her breasts and tied the strings holding it in place. She chewed on her lower lip. “I’d rather you did not mention my negotiations with you to my father.”

  “And how do you expect me to get him to trade you for his money and ranch?”

  “I will tell him that I’ve…I’ve…fallen in love and wish to marry you. You will present him the money and the ranch IOU as a measure of good faith for my hand in marriage.”

  “But I’m not marryin’ you.”

  “That will be our secret.” She stood straighter. “When you tire of me, I will return to my father’s ranch and make up a story that will satisfy him. Perhaps I will tell him that you died a tragic death, buried in a mine somewhere.”

  The miner’s eyes narrowed. “Be careful, woman, that you don’t give yourself any ideas. I’ll want my money’s worth.”

  “Oh, you’ll get your damned money’s worth.”

  “I’m countin’ on it, or the deal’s off. You better be worth it or I’ll take back what I won fair and square.”

  “You have my word I’ll be worth every penny.” She marched toward the door, fully intending to leave now that she’d solved her family’s dilemma.

  Before KC could even reach for the handle, Jake spun her around and pushed her against the wood panels of the solid door. “Don’t you want to shake or kiss to seal the deal?”

  Anger ranged through her at the same time desire flooded low in her belly. “I’d rather kiss a pig,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Jake laughed out loud. “Then consider me a pig.” His mouth descended on hers, his tongue forcing its way through her teeth to stroke hers.

  At first she held herself stiff, her body unyielding. But the longer the kiss went on, the more compliant she became.

  When his hands smoothed over her shoulders, sliding the dress’s neckline down her arms, and her breasts sprang free of the fabric, she couldn’t even force a whimper of protest.

  His hands came up to cup them, his thumb and forefinger pinching a nipple into a tight little nub.

  KC groaned, her chest pushing forward into his hands.

  How could she hate him so much and yet respond to his touch in such a wanton way?

  His lips left hers, traveling across her cheek to her neck and downward. He kissed and nipped the tender skin, making his way lower until he took one of her nipples between his lips and sucked it into the warm moistness of his mouth.

  KC gasped, her hands circling behind his head with every intention of pushing him away. But her fingers played traitor and pulled him even closer, urging him to take the other breast and lavish equal attention on it.

  As he raised his head to stare down into her eyes, KC came back to earth. Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled away from him. “As you can see, you will be getting your money’s worth,” she said, her words more shaky than she cared to admit.

  She’d played her cards. Come morning, would the gambler ante up?

  Chapter Three

  Just as KC’s shaking hand reached for the handle to the room she shared with Rosalyn, the other woman jerked open the door and dragged her through. “Well how did it go? Did he promise to give back the ranch?”

  “Yes.” For a cost.

  “Wonderful! Your father will be so proud.” Rosalyn hugged KC tight. “Tell me everything. What did you say? What did he say? How did you convince him?”

  KC struggled with the ties on the front of the dress she’d borrowed from Rosalyn. She couldn’t get out of it soon enough, and her shaking fingers only managed to tangle the strings into knots.

  Rosalyn slapped her hands away gently. “Here, allow me. I’ll undress you while you tell me what happened. By the frown on your face, I assume it didn’t go exactly as planned.”

  With a sigh, KC shook her head. “No, it didn’t.” She told Rosalyn of the deal she’d struck with the miner. Her for the ranch and money.

  Rosalyn frowned fiercely. “That’s prostitution.”

  KC’s frown rivaled that of her new friend. “Call it what you may. I traded the only thing I had left to trade. Me. And he seemed more than willing.”

  “Bastard.” Rosalyn lifted the dress up over KC’s shoulders and tossed it to the bed.

  “It’s worse.” KC swallowed hard on the sob that threatened to escape from her throat. “He expects me to keep him entertained.”

  Rosalyn’s brows rose in question. “As in sexually entertained?”

  Heat rose in KC’s cheeks. Even talking about it made her blush. “How the hell am I supposed to keep him entertained when I have no experience in the matter?”

  “Tell him to go to hell. We’ll think of something else to save your family from starvation.”

  KC sighed. “It’s no use. He didn’t want anything else. Just me.” She laughed, the sound anything but amused. “Why, I don’t know. I’m just a cowgirl. I don’t have any womanly skills. If he finds out that I’m completely ignorant of the ways in which to entertain a man, he’ll demand the ranch and money back.”

  Rosalyn clucked her tongue. “Dear, dear. You are in quite the pickle, aren’t you?”

  With a nod, KC turned her back for Rosalyn to work the strings on the corset.

  As Rosalyn tugged and loosened the constraints, she made soft soothing sounds. “Not to worry, sweet Katherine.”

  “Not worry?” As the corset came lose, she stepped out of it, wearing nothing and feeling more like herself. After what had occurred between her and Rosalyn during her lessons, followed by the kiss Jake had forced on her and the touch of his lips and hands on her naked breasts, KC no longer felt as shy with Rosalyn.

  “Honey, you have nothing to fear.” Rosalyn’s gaze ran over KC’s curves, from her chin to the apex of her thighs. “You have all the right attributes a woman needs. All you need is someone to teach you how to pleasure a man.”

  “I only have until tomorrow when he goes to my father to seal the deal. He’ll expect me to be his immediately.”

  “Are you certain this is the deal you wish to make?” Rosalyn rested her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed.

  “I had to. Don’t you see? I’m duty bound to save my family.”

  “I could shoot the man.”

  “Who, my father or Jake?”

  Rosalyn’s brows rose. “On a first-name basis, are we?”

  KC’s cheeks burned. After he’d touched her breasts, it seemed silly to be on anything other than first-name basis.

  “I think you’re making a big mistake.”

  “Other than killing him…what choice do I have?”

  Rosalyn’s mouth pressed together. “A little arsenic would do the job.”

  KC gasped. “Rosalyn! I will not go to jail for murder.”

  “Missy, we’re in gold country. Men murder other men all the time and no on
e ever finds the bodies.”

  “Well, I’m not going to stoop to murder.” KC stared at her new friend, an uneasy feeling creeping over her.

  The other woman smiled. “No, sweeting, I haven’t killed another man. Came close, but no.” She clapped her hands together. “If we aren’t plotting a murder, then, let’s make haste. We have the rest of the night for lessons in the art of seduction.”

  “How can a woman teach me what I need to know about a man? Have you been with a man?”

  “Sweeting, I’ve been with a man.” She sucked in a deep breath and let out a long, heartfelt sigh. “I’ve been with a man.”

  By the softening of her lips and the faraway look in Rosalyn’s eyes, KC guessed she’d been in love with the man she’d been with. “Was he handsome?”

  Rosalyn’s eyes clouded over, her gaze shifting toward the window. “The most handsome man I’ve ever met. As tall as a church steeple, with black hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes.” She hugged her arms around her middle. “He could charm the birds from the trees.” The smile on her lips faded and her arms dropped to her sides.

  “What happened? Did he die?”

  “No. He’s very much alive.”

  “Then why aren’t you still with him?”

  “Honey, he’s the worst kind of man there ever was.”

  “A criminal?”

  “No. A gambler.”

  KC’s lips twisted. “Ah.”

  “Let’s not get all maudlin. We have work to do, and you have to be in the right mood to make this work.”

  “Mood? How so?”

  “Let me show you.” Rosalyn snuffed the wick on the lamp perched on the washstand, leaving only one candle burning, sending a soft golden glow over the room. “When you have your man alone, less light is more romantic. Not complete darkness. A man likes to see a woman’s body.”

  “It will be most difficult to be romantic when he’s traded for me like a horse.”

  “If you don’t want him reneging on the deal, you’ll have to get past that. It can all be an act, or you can find enjoyment in the deed. It’s altogether up to you. Now are you going to stand there and argue, or learn something?”